Cricket World Cup 2019: Pakistan squad and fixtures

The last time the Cricket World Cup was staged with ten teams competing in an open pool Pakistan won the trophy, something Mickey Arthur’s men might take as a good omen.

Not so good for Pakistan has been the walloping they have been subjected to at the hands of England in their ODI series which has taken place at some of the World Cup venues.

Leg-spinning allrounder Shadab Khan feels the misfiring displays by the team of late are down to a lack of rhythm among the bowlers. Shadab himself missed the series with a viral infection but has been cleared to appear at the World Cup.

“Bowlers are not doing well, they are actually not in the rhythm required, but once they start clicking, we will start winning games,” Shadab said.

“When you are missing your four key players, it becomes increasingly tough. But there is a difference between pressure for a [bilateral] series and a World Cup.

“Nowadays, you have to take wickets because cricket has become very fast and even 350 isn’t a par score. Yes, we have been struggling with the ball in middle overs, but the way the batsmen are performing, it’s a good sign.”

Shaheen Afridi tormented the Proteas when Pakistan visited our shores earlier this year but he and Hasan Ali have yet to fire in their bilateral series against England.

Fakhar Zaman and Imam Ul Haq are at least looking in good touch at the top of the order while Babar Azam has shown signs of delivering on his enormous talent.

Update: On Monday, 20 May the PCB selectors named the final 15-man contingent for the marquee tournament. Asif Ali, Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz were added to the squad while Abid Ali, Faheem Ashraf and Junaid Khan were axed from the original group named in April.

After Pakistan saw their bowlers put to the sword by England they have opted for proven wicket-takers Amir and Wahab over the Ashraf and Junaid who are considered to be containing bowlers.

“Junaid and Faheem had been originally preferred over a few other bowlers based on their recent performances and the investment we had made on them since 2017,” said chief selector Inzamam Ul Haq.

“They had the opportunity to cement their Word Cup spots, but they were well below-par in the series against England, even though they were up against the difficult challenge of bowling on placid and batsmen-friendly wickets.

“After it became obvious that the bat is likely to dominate the ball in the World Cup, we revisited our strategy and reverted to the pace of Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz. Amir and Wahab give the fast bowling attack more experience to back and support the relatively inexperienced, but immensely talented, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Hasnain.

“We believed that right now, utilising the World Cup experience and knowledge of Wahab was the correct choice. Wahab has been training and playing club cricket, and a player of his calibre will not face much problem in adapting and adjusting to the gruelling demands of the World Cup. If we have at our disposal two vastly experienced pacers in Amir and Wahab, then it will be foolish not to include them.”

Pakistan Cricket World Cup squad

Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt,wk), Asif Ali, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz

Pakistan Cricket World Cup fixtures

June 3 – v England, Trent Bridge
June 7 – v Sri Lanka, Bristol
June 12 – v Australia, Taunton
June 16 – v India, Old Trafford
June 23 – v South Africa, Lords
June 26 – v New Zealand, Edgbaston
June 29 – v Afghanistan, Headingley
July 5 – v Bangladesh, Lords (d/n).